


For Guardian Angels Dial 0

by shadowolfhunter



Category: Grimm (TV)
Genre: Angst, Animal Transformation, Blind Character, Fluff, M/M, Strife - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-08-11 08:43:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7884427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowolfhunter/pseuds/shadowolfhunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick and Sean share a guardian angel called Lucy. After years of trying, she hasn't had any real luck in getting them to co-operate for the benefit of mankind. So, it's make or break time... Lucy breaks them, so that they will make history.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Unscrupulous Action of an Angel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JollyCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JollyCat/gifts), [Corvus_Aconitum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvus_Aconitum/gifts), [TeamRenhardt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamRenhardt/gifts), [tolieawake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tolieawake/gifts).



> A now empty bottle of Limoncello went into this, and it should also be noted that I have the memory of an elephant (not just the approximate tonnage) and large portions of my youth were spent watching movies (and I have very visual recall).
> 
> Beware: Tooth-rotting fluff lies ahead. I guarantee that it will be silly, and sappy, and just a little bit angsty...

_I am a Guardian Angel, Second Class, which may not mean much to the realm of men, but in terms of being in charge of the guarding and guiding of humans (and part Wesen part Royals who are too stubborn for their own good), it means I am a foot soldier._

_Now as an immortal, I am supposed to be blessed with patience. And, in the main, I have considerable amounts of it to go around. Most of my charges appreciate this, or at least if they don't understand and appreciate it, they manage to instinctively not try my last nerve._

_Except these two. Burkhardt and Renard. They try my patience. For a while it even looked like they were finally heading in the right direction, there was sort of trust, and occasional eye-humping, and they were making, if not all the right moves, certainly enough of the right moves so that they were broadly aligned on the same side together..._

_Then..._

_Dammit._

_Okay... So they are going in the wrong direction again. Last ditch attempt._

_So, this is what I did._

 

"That's a really nasty looking bruise."

Sean shifts his weight almost imperceptibly onto his heels, he might not be able to see anything, but every instinct he has says that the veterinary nurse, is going to touch his bruised face, and right now Sean is not dealing with touch.

The surly dog lying at his feet is the reason for the bruise, and Sean is just angry enough right now to... Except he won't because somewhere deep inside his soul is a very inconvenient truth, that he loves the surly Grimm dog at his feet, even though the little git just bounced him off a door frame and two lampposts.

"I need you to worm him, and give him a flea treatment." He manages to say it with barely a tremor in his voice. Dog Nick didn't appreciate the trip to the Canine Beautician, the dog is still pouting, although Sean can't see it, he can feel the vibes of revenge that dog Nick is sending his way.

Sean's blind, Nick's a dog.

Sean is distinctly confused where it all went so wrong. Up to a week ago, he was happy, he was the Mayor, okay, not much of a start, but still a start, he was on his way, his daughter was back in his life, Adalind...

So Adalind was curiously resistant to the charms of him being the Mayor of Portland, which was confusing to Sean, because come on... He's the Mayor. Her previous attempts to charm him into bed showed him she wasn't resistant to power, and the vague memories of their coupling in the woods informed a few dreams.

He's in bed, which should have been the clue, his bed is not a good place, Sean's thinking of throwing it out and replacing it because no matter how comfortable the mattress, the quality of the sheets and pillowcases, the comfort of his nice firm pillows, the whole luxurious expanse of it, the damn thing seems to be cursed. So he's lying there on the edge of drifting off to sleep and this woman appears in his bedroom.

Woman? Well, Sean doesn't actually know any woman with wings, but this one has wings, and she has hold of Nick Burkhardt by the scruff of his neck, and she's saying something about not having any time to wait for them to grow a clue so they are going to have to do this the hard way...

And bam! Nick's a dog.

A dog wearing a harness, and really Sean should have done something, protested or something, but it was probably already too late, because his vision is greying over, and the last thing he can see clearly is her face as she tells him, them, that they are going to have to learn to co-operate and rely on each other, and that they are stuck like this, together, until she deems that they have learned their lesson.

Sean blinks twice, and he's blind.

So the week has been a bad one, by any standards. There have been a battery of tests, but doctors have no idea why he's blind. There is nothing wrong with his eyes at all. Except he can't see.

Nick's his guide dog. Nick has taken to being a guide dog with very bad grace. But he's discovered ways to make Sean's life even more stressful. And he takes all of them.

So Sean retaliates. Even though he knows he shouldn't, inside he can concede that Nick has reason to hate him, because of Adalind, and Kelly, and somewhere buried beneath all the last two years, Sean can accept that it really isn't Adalind which moved him, what hurts is that Nick wanted Adalind and not him. So Sean saw no reason why he shouldn't chase power, because love was clearly denied him.

In a strange way, Adalind's won. 

Now Nick and Sean are stuck in a curious cycle of petty revenge.


	2. Bruises and Bandages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dog Nick reflects on a couple of things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a big, strong and very tough guy, Renard gets beat up a lot. Back in Season 2 (3?) Sasha expressed the hope he might get out of the bruises and bandages soon... My brain went to a very fluffy place.

Nick finishes his bowl of chicken and watches Renard carefully.

He (grudgingly) concedes that Renard could have fed him on cheap canned dog food and no one would be any the wiser, but his bowl of water is always clean and fresh, and Renard dices up good quality meat for him, with a few vegetables mixed in.

As dog owners go, Sean is a good owner.

As human beings go... Well Sean is a Zauberbiest and they are not to be trusted. Then there was the crap that Sean pulled with Adalind. So Nick feels justified in the door frame, and the two lampposts.

Now watching Sean fishing in the freezer for an icepack, Nick isn't so sure. He watches as Sean heads for the stairs, the weary slump of his body, the hand outstretched feeling for the wall, and then the bannister; watches as Sean climbs the stairs, Nick quietly trails after him.

 

Nick lies down just inside the door, watches Sean get ready for bed. The big man seems tired, and there's a defeated slump to his posture that Nick has never seen before. He fumbles the quilt back and slides into bed, rolls on his side and puts the icepack to his bruised face.

Nick walks over to the bed.

Sean looks utterly exhausted.

Somewhere deep in Nick's dog soul, empathy for this exhausted, frightened man, flickers. He climbs up onto the bed, and settles down close to Sean.

 

It hurts. Sean's exhausted, and he just wants this to be over. Right now if Victor or any one of his creepy cousins were to show up, Sean doesn't think he would even fight back. The unexpected warmth, and brush of fur against his skin is his undoing. Sean drops the icepack, buries his hand in the thick soft fur and buries his face in Nick's coat.

If he chokes back something that feels as though it could be a sob, and a tear rolls down his cheek, into the soft plush coat, that's for him to know.

 

Nick feels the sob, becomes aware of the dampness leaking into his fur and snuggles closer. With Sean's cheek resting against Nick's furry shoulder, they fall asleep, each deriving comfort from the other's presence.


	3. Growing a clue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sean is starting to realise that Nick is in his life one way or another. Things are starting to become clear to him.

Sean wakes feeling more rested than he has before, there's soft warm fur under his cheek, and he keeps his eyes closed. So he can't see anything, but it still preserves the fantasy.

His arms are around Nick's body, the dog is leaning into him as much as Sean is leaning against the dog.

Nick's a little surprised to feel Sean continue to cuddle him, even though he knows the Zauberbiest is awake. What he can feel from Sean is a need for reassurance. Now this is the last thing he would have suspected of Renard. The man oozed a distance, and a confidence that suggested that he didn't need anything.

Apparently, Nick was... IS wrong about that. What else might Nick have been wrong about?

Sean doesn't show any sign of letting go any time soon, so Nick cuddles up. What else can he do?

It's weird, but he feels like a barrier between them is finally crumbling. That he is finally seeing beneath the layers that make up Sean Renard, and just maybe there's a man in there that Nick can trust. Maybe something more.

 

It's strange, Sean has never been particularly pet orientated. Having spent most of his life on the run in one way or another. Never stopping anywhere for long. Never really feeling settled enough to call anywhere home until Portland, the man who didn't need anything, or anyone, finds that he does. Need someone.

In his heart, Sean realises that whatever form he's holding in his arms, the someone he needs is Nick.

The entirely heterosexual Nick who's been in love with Juliette, and maybe now with Adalind.

And Sean is the man who came between them.

He needs the Nick who has every single cause to hate him. For Juliette, for Adalind, for Aunt Marie.

Everything that Sean has done has torn them further and further apart.

Two weeks ago, Sean Renard thought his life meant nothing without his sight. Now he knows it means nothing without Nick in it. Power is nothing without love.

 

He's still holding on, so Nick can feel Sean deflate, like hope is dwindling away. He can't let that happen.

He wriggles, and turns a little, swiping his tongue up the side of Sean's face, the unbruised side. It's weird, he's a dog, but he pours all his love into licking his blind Zauberbiest.


	4. Comfort and Cheesecake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee... Cheesecake and inappropriate use of a couch...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there is a fair chance that I am obsessed by cheesecake. So you knew it was going to crop up here....

The back of his neck was itchy, without thinking, Nick's hind foot buried itself in the ruff of fur around his neck and he gave into the impulse to scratch vigorously.

"CAPTAIN RENARD, YOUR DOG IS ON THE COUCH AGAIN!"

Nick grinned to himself, in as much as a dog could grin, he wasn't exactly fond of Sean's latest housekeeper. She was more a bossy nanny-type, and he had the distinct feeling that while Sean was grateful for some of her help, her smothering impulses were driving him mad.

"Charlotte, he's just a dog," Nick noted the slight grimace which crossed Sean's face at the lie, apparently blindness had robbed Sean of some of his infamous poker faces. 

Sean put his hand out, and Nick rolled a little so that his head was under Sean's hand, the long fingers stroked his ears, and Nick made a little dog song of happiness.

"Now he's growling at me."

"He's happy, he's not growling." There was an almost indulgent tone in Sean's voice, and Nick cuddled closer, nudging Sean's hand again.

Somewhere behind the couch, Sean's housekeeper made a grunting noise that sounded a lot like disapproval, but Nick just leaned into Sean enjoying the attention.

 

The taxi drops them at the edge of the Pearl, allowing Sean to choose which way he was going to go, and Nick decides to make up for the lampposts. He leans into Sean's leg, gently guiding him around obstacles, leading him into what he knows is one of Renard's favourite coffee shops.

They know Renard in there, everyone is very sorry about his loss of sight, but they know he doesn't like being crowded, so Nick guides him right up to the counter.

"Tall latte please, and some water for Nick." Sean orders.

"We have cheesecake today, Captain. Lemon curd."

Sean smiles, it feels like the treat is heaven sent, maybe if this is it, maybe he can be happy. "Yes, please."

"This way, Captain." A gentle hand takes his arm and steers him to a quiet table.

"Thank you, Mary."

"How did you know it was me."

Sean smiles, taps his nose, "your perfume."

She blushes and giggles a little, the former Captain is handsome and charming, and it brightens the day a little when he comes in. The beautiful fluffy coated German Shepherd beneath the table gives her a lick when she brings the bowl of water. Mary gives him the biscuit she has in her pocket, he makes a funny little growly squeaky noise which is a bit like a howl, it's his way of thanking her, and she indulges in a quick ear rub as she straightens up.

The Captain's hand lands on the dog's head, and the dog rests his nose on the Captain's knee, pressing as close as he can get, and Mary can't help but smile at that, the dog's gentle devotion, and the Captain's love for the creature that guides him.

Sean cuts a piece of the cheesecake off with the spoon provided, and picks it up in his fingers. He brings his hand beneath the table, and the sharp teeth that he cannot see kiss the offered treat from his hand as gentle as can be. He holds his hand there as a long, velvety tongue licks his fingers lovingly, although Sean is unsure whether that's love of Sean, or cupboard love.

Sean eats the rest of his cheesecake, aware of Nick resting against his leg, drinks his coffee and almost misses the disgruntled voice off to his left somewhere.

"A dog?"

"Sir, the dog is a seeing eye dog, it's company policy to allow service animals inside..."

The man clearly lowers his voice, but Sean has been blessed with a zauberbiest's sharp hearing, he can still hear the man's surly complaints.

He finishes his cheesecake and his coffee, intent only on leaving. "Thank you," he calls out as Nick quickly guides him back out onto the street. It would be a shame to ruin the day with confrontation.


	5. Cry Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The forces of evil that come from Vienna are back again...

Sean and Nick leave the coffee shop, Sean doesn’t want things to get awkward, and the testy customer who objects to Nick’s presence would make things awkward.

Sean takes a left and walks down the street, Nick paces by his side, gently steering him around obstacles. They work in harmony, unaware that sharp eyes are following them, have been following them since the coffee shop.

Across the street, more sharp eyes are watching. A tall, dark man in a dark suit. He watches the pair to the end of the street, notes which way they turn, presses a key on the cell phone in his hand and speaks when it’s answered.

“They are coming towards you. It is as planned.”

 

Sean has a feeling, he’s had it almost from the moment they left the coffee shop, and if he thinks about it, they were driven from the coffee shop. So they are out on the street, and he can hear that there is little traffic and almost no passersby, what could he say anyway, help me, I’m a Royal Bastard whose family have decided will be better off dead? He can’t do that, he cannot get some unfortunate bystander drawn into this endless fight.

There is a chance, he thinks, a small chance that they do not know that Nick is the dog pacing by his side. If they don’t or even if they do, Nick can see, he has four paws, a turn of speed and a chance to get away. Sean’s strong and fit, but he’s blind and that’s too much of a handicap.

No. Sean will block, and give Nick a chance to get away.

He pauses, bends down to ruffle Nick’s fur, rub his ears and quickly undo the collar and shove it in his coat pocket. He frees the belly strap on the harness. Nick can easily slip free now.

 

Nick can feel the palpable sense of menace surrounding them, he’s felt it since the coffee shop. He might look like a dog, but he still possesses the human qualities that made him a good detective and when Sean bends down, and strokes him, undoes the collar and the belly strap Nick knows exactly what he’s trying to do. Give Nick the chance to get away.

Every fibre of Nick’s being does not want to do this. But the deductive reasoning part of his brain knows that he might be Sean’s only real chance of survival.

There are at least four of them now, keeping pace with Nick and Sean.

When the attack comes it’s almost a relief.

They’re herded into a dark alleyway, and their attackers woge.

Hundjagers.

 

Sean fights back, his size and strength something of a match, but his blindness means that he is soon overwhelmed. He goes down hard, “Nick RUN!” he hits his head on something and passes out.

Nick stands over his fallen man, lips drawn back over gleaming teeth he defies the hundjagers to come anywhere near his Sean. There’s a flaw in Sean’s plan, this is a snatch, and if they take Sean now, Nick might not be able to find him in time. So Nick holds off until the last second… hoping that someone comes by.


	6. Havoc and the lesser angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick races for help, while the Hundjagers do a brutal number on Sean.

Nick runs. Until this moment he has not appreciated what being a dog has given him. He's a reasonably fast runner, but four-paw drive far exceeds any speed he can manage on two. And his flight is one of sheer panic. He needs to get help and they need to rescue Sean.

 

The Hundjagers move their unconscious victim to a small warehouse near the river. They've been told to wait, and that Renard needs to be alive when their Prince gets there, but other than that they can do whatever they like.

Sean isn't as unconscious as his enemies think he is. He's also no fool. He cannot see if he's alone, and there are plenty of noises around the place that he's being kept. Some of these noises are helpful, the occasional boat horn, the sound of heavy engines, both of these noises tell him he's near the river, he can feel he's lying on concrete, and there is an echoing quality to the place, so more likely warehouse than boat shed. He doesn't dare move too much, because the sounds from the river and from the building itself mask if there is anyone hiding.

Playing dead is his best option.

Sean knows that Nick is gone. He heard the curses as their attackers tried to grab the dog. As they only referred to Nick as the dog, Sean is fairly certain no one actually knows that his 'dog' is Nick. He wanted Nick to run, to save himself, Sean can't see that is too big a handicap to overcome, and Sean wants Nick to go on living, to be a father to Kelly... Maybe make Adalind happy, because Sean sure as hell can't... And no one would really miss him. Not even Diana.

That hurts.

Part of Sean wishes that he was worth saving, that maybe Nick will come for him, but the rest of him accepts that he's done nothing to endear himself to Nick for over a year now, maybe it's better that it ends like this. His father's family comes for him, and it's all over.

Sean lies as still as possible on the cold hard ground, and tries not to think about the end. He's always known it would end with him six foot under, he just occasionally hoped for something different first.

 

Nick's still running, it takes a moment for him to work out that he's headed for Monroe's place as straight as an arrow, not Hank or Wu, but Monroe, and Nick's doggy brain wonders for a second if it is the fellow canine, or for some other reason. Then he's ploughing through the woods and the undergrowth and coming out the other side, and stumbling across the road, and there's a flash, and he lands heavily on Monroe's front porch, and realises that he's human again.

And that his only clothing is a pair of boxer shorts.

But there's no time to worry about that, he flings himself at the doorbell.

 

"Dude!" To say that Monroe is startled to find a nearly naked Nicholas Burkhardt on his front doorstep, babbling about Hundjagers and Sean Renard, is an understatement. The last time Monroe looked, Captain Sean Renard was firmly in the enemy camp, and Nick was going to kill him... Renard.

Then the mystery affliction which took Renard's sight, and Monroe didn't know what to think.

Now Nick has apparently had a change of heart, which he seems to have come too after several weeks in hiding.

"Monroe, if I could explain what's been going on in a way that made any sense I would." Nick's begging, because every minute they waste, Sean could be being hurt or killed and Nick doesn't care if Sean's the enemy, if Nick's got anything to do with it, he's going to pull Sean back to their side. Because even if Nick wanted to, he can't forget the gentleness and kindness with which Sean treated him when he was Sean's guide dog, he can't quite forget the things that Sean has done to try and protect Nick, and perhaps some of what's gone down since is Nick's fault too.

As much as things seem black with the Captain, Monroe cannot forget that Renard turned out to save him from the Wesenrein. A tiny part of Monroe thinks that if they had gathered the Captain in after Jack, rather than letting him go and ignoring him afterwards, perhaps things would have been very different.

Monroe says yes, with a glance at Rosalee, who's been very quiet up to now.

"Be careful." She gives them her blessing.

With Nick in borrowed clothes, and Monroe driving they head off in search of Hank.


	7. To the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick rounds up his friends to save Sean, they find the former Captain, but it's not looking all that good.

Finding where the Hundjagers had taken Sean was surprisingly easy. Nick supposed that they thought now the Captain was on the other side it would be easy to take a run at him.

It was so strange, even a few weeks ago, Nick would probably just have left Sean to his fate. After everything, the deaths, Hank and Adalind and Juliette... Even the death of Meisner. The destruction that Sean had wrought. Somehow Nick could find it in his heart to forgive the man.

Hank and Wu made it clear they were helping him for Nick's sake. That Sean had a long way to go with them. Monroe's view was different, and Nick wondered if that was because Monroe was Wesen, like Sean. Then he wondered if Sean's Wesen side was what drew him to Black Claw in the first place. Or was it because Nick and his friends had just let Sean go after Jack.

Nick found that he did regret that. Sean had been trapped, invaded by the other being, committed acts against his will and Nick had just left him. Nick thought back to the purification, so long ago it seemed, where Sean's heart was purified when he drank the potion to save Juliette. And Nick had drunk the same stuff himself. That had been painful, how much more painful would it have been for the Zauberbiest in Sean? What had Jack done to Sean? Nick wanted the Sean that had been shot trying to save Nick from Adalind's plot. He wanted that Sean back... The man he now realised he loved.

He slunk into position to view through the skylight of the old warehouse. Really Hundjagers and their Royal masters were not all that smart, so much activity around a usually deserted building after dark, well that was bound to bring the curious out. And it had.

Nick had spotted two Hundjagers outside, and one inside, which probably left one at least unaccounted for, because these things seemed to travel in twos.

When he looked down and saw Sean, suddenly everything shifted into sharp focus. _oh god..._

Renard was lying on his side, unmoving, he looked dead. All Nick could hold on to was the hope that Sean was alive.

 

They breached with ease, and Nick downed the first Hundjager just inside the door, and everything was a blur as Nick fought his way to Sean's side.

He fell to his knees, bending down close to his injured Zauberbiest. Sean was breathing, but it was laboured and Nick could see the bruises, they'd beaten him brutally. "Sean." Nick whispered.

A pained groan, Sean's eyes opened. "Nick?"

Nick swallowed. His zauberbiest's eye line was way off. Sean was still blind.


	8. "There are none so blind as them that won't see"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick needs help, Sean is injured and blind, and Nick can't see why he's back to normal and Sean isn't... It's time for a little Angel Mojo.

"Frankly, he's disorientated, and that is adding to his distress." Nick listens with half an ear to Sean's doctor, as he gazes through the small window at Sean.

His zauberbiest is curled on his side in the hospital bed that looks far too small for Sean's huge powerful frame, and Nick wonders how he knows that the man is distressed even without the doctor telling him so. ".... Under normal circumstances I would not be suggesting this, but we have wrapped his ribs, the bruises will take time but they will heal relatively quickly, he's not in imminent danger, so if someone could care for him at home, in a familiar environment, he would be a great deal less distressed."

The blankets are rumpled as though Sean has been threshing around, Nick can see the back of Sean's head, the unbecoming gown, the ties holding it together, Sean's hunched shoulder blades sticking up, some of the knobs of his spine, curved and visible, the beginning of the bandages wrapped around Sean's body, supporting and stabilising his broken ribs, the rest disappears under that mess of blankets. It screams pain and fear and tension, and somehow Nick has become fluent in Zauberbiest these last few weeks.

The doctor is still speaking.

"Huh..." Nick takes his eye off Sean and re-fixes it on the doctor. She looks less than impressed.

"I am saying that if there is someone there to care for him, the Captain would be better off at home. Somewhere familiar. With family around him."

Family.

Well that was kind of a sticking point. Nick supposes that he has to face this sooner or later. He has to admit to himself at least that Sean does have a stake in the family, Diana is his daughter. For the first time, Nick thinks about that. Finds that he does care. That Diana is Sean's like Kelly is his, and somehow both Adalind and Sean do matter to him.

That he cares for Sean. A lot. Perhaps more than he would have thought possible. In ways he might have thought of long ago, before Grimms and Royals and Wesen.

Sean is blind. He's scared, in pain and suffering, and Nick realises that one way or another Sean Renard has been suffering since he gave up his child, and then died for Nick. As much as Adalind was hurt by the loss of her daughter, Nick had to believe that Sean did that for Diana, not for himself.

Nick nods. "I'll take him home." The doctor looks at him carefully, and Nick realises how ridiculous he looks in a borrowed shirt, sweater and chinos. "I'll care for him." He says firmly, and means it. For a moment all is still, then she sighs. "Sign here," Nick scribbles on the discharge papers.

 

Sean is withdrawn and quiet, so entirely the opposite of his normal commanding and forceful personality that Nick is even more alarmed. Helping Sean up the stairs into his bedroom, the Zauberbiest seems barely more relaxed than he was in the hospital. Nick gets that he's scared, Nick isn't certain what of, and he doesn't understand why Sean is still blind. After all, Nick is back to normal.

It's late, night has fallen, and Nick sits by Sean's bedside watching him sleep.

"If you're listening, guardian angel, well I get it, and I know Sean gets it, so why?"

_Well that's both a hard one and incredibly easy really._

_"Nick, there are none so blind as those that won't see."_

"What do you mean?"

_"Sean thinks that if you trust him and care for him because he's blind and not a threat..." I trail off here, I want Nick to get this step on his own. The fate of everything may hang on it._

"He..." Nick throws his hands up in frustration. "I need him to be my Sean. The Sean he was after Juliette and before Jack. I don't need him to be blind. I..."

_He's so close. But I resist the urge to push. He needs to reach for this on his own._

"I love him."

_"have you told him that?"_


	9. Hearts and Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armed with his new realisation, Nick comes to a conclusion. Now can he get Sean to see it his way for a change.
> 
> Sean is having trouble thinking beyond the pain in his ribs, and the bruises everywhere, and a big part of him is tired of being a punching bag.
> 
> Can Nick guide his Zauberbiest to love, when love is something that the illegitimate son of an indifferent King has very little acquaintance with?

Nick sits for a while in the chair by the bed, gathering his thoughts, watching his Zauberbiest breathe. It's been quite a shock, especially when Nick was so very angry with Sean, then guiding him, not always successfully. Nick grimaces when he remembers the lampposts and door frame. He doesn't like to think of himself as a cruel person, but he was definitely a cruel dog at that point. Looks down at Sean's face, at the reddish, purplish bruise which covers the whole right side of Sean's face but doesn't conceal the yellowish mark that was there from Sean's hard encounter with the door frame.

Realises then that over the last few years Sean Renard has received a lots of cuts and bruises because of Nick. And he's always borne them without complaint. Back when Sean was happy to protect Nick.

And he has protected Nick. Nick can acknowledge this, because he does know it's true. Even when some of Renard's actions have made Nick very angry, they were for Nick, not for Renard.

The truth is that back when Nick was a newly fledged Grimm, Sean could have taken the key, given it to his family, and Sean would have been better off, would have perhaps had the power he clearly craved, if he had brought Nick into his family, as they wanted.

What had resisting, and working with the Laufer ever really done for Sean? It had actually gotten him killed. Knowing that Sean had died trying to save Nick, that he'd been shot and suffered for Nick's safety, not his own, and everything that had gone wrong since, none of that really benefitted Sean. The man Nick was growing to understand, to love, well if Nick thought he had all the time in the world to just dally with Sean Renard's emotions without ever offering the man any indication of trust or care, some of that was definitely on Nick.

He looks down at his sleeping Zauberbiest. The man's sleep is not peaceful, sure he's not moving, but there's a tension in the powerful body, and Sean's expression is pinched with pain, and something else that Nick finds hard to define.

There are painkillers, and a couple of other things that Nick isn't entirely sure what they are, in the small white bag on the bedside table, but Nick is reluctant to wake Sean. There is something else he can do though.

Quietly Nick strips down to his boxers, lifts the covers and slides carefully and quietly into bed next to Sean. Maybe it's not the right thing to do, and Nick has never seen any signs that Sean would welcome comforting on any level, but something tells him that even if Sean needed comfort he would never ask for it, or even recognise it.

This close, the warmth radiating from Sean's body is unmistakable and for a moment Nick worries that he should wake Sean and give him the medications, because it feels like a bit of a fever, and well...

Nick eases down and stretches out next to Sean. It's a little strange, because Sean is huge and very strong, it's not just his impressive height that makes him seem much larger than Nick, it's the presence, the imposing, dignified presence that the man shows the world. It's bred into him, his bloodlines, well even if Nick knows nothing about Sean's mother beyond the fact that she's blonde, beautiful and looks about five minutes older than her son, he might have checked up on Frederick's bloodline.

But now Sean is curled up on his side, a protective position, his arms are up, defending himself, his knees are drawn in, presumably protecting his injured ribs, even that's a little off, the left knee is puffy, the bruise that is darkening across it has a definite shape and Nick knows it was made by something heavy and cylindrical. Sean's trying to make himself smaller, and that sends a quick stab of pain through Nick's heart.

He eases a little closer, and the tension seems to rise, but even in his sleep, Sean seems to recognise the Nick doesn't mean him any harm. It's Nick's turn to still as Sean moves a little, a hand tentatively rests on Nick's bare chest, and a tear runs down Nick's cheek as Sean curls into Nick's body.

Nick's arm curls very slowly around his biest's shoulders as Sean settles, cheek resting against Nick's shoulder, his hand rests, fingers slightly curled, on Nick's chest, the un-injured leg rests on Nick's, Sean's ankle curved around Nick's and yes there's definitely a warmth from Sean's body that is hotter than it should be, but Nick has gotten this much trust from his dangerous and wary creature and he is not about to lose the ground he's gained.

His hand gently caresses Sean's shoulder, the smooth skin, the very powerful musculature beneath, and Nick has to admit to himself that he'd always been slightly fascinated by what Sean Renard was concealing beneath those beautiful and expensive suits. He knows that part of that power owes itself to Sean's Zauberbiest heritage, but a fair amount of it is down to Sean's work ethic. The kind of work ethic that Nick admires if he's being honest. The work ethic that is discipline and leaving nothing to chance. The work ethic of a man used to playing all the angles. A learned behaviour from decades of keeping himself safe, something that he has extended to others around him, and Nick has been a recipient of that care and what the hell did Nick do with that information?

Not much, it has to be said.

He is going round and round in circles, Nick calms his spiralling thoughts, and closes his eyes. Time enough for all of this when Sean is awake, Nick is going to let him sleep for now.

Nick is tired himself, he closes his eyes, his last conscious thought is that it's nice, holding Sean like this, even the weight of the zauberbiest's considerably heavier body resting against Nick's is reassuring.

Nick sleeps.


	10. Love Cometh In The Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making good on his various resolutions, Nick guides Sean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but it's been quite a ride one way or another trying to be cute... especially with my instinct for melodrama...

Nick has been awake for a little while. It's clear that his zauberbiest is running a temperature, though in sleep, it also seems as though Sean's instincts trust Nick. Given all the reasons Nick now realises that Sean has for exactly the opposite, although Sean isn't exactly guilt free, Nick is grateful for that.

Sean nudges a little closer to the comfort of the body against his, the firm shoulder beneath his cheek, it feels good. Most of his body feels like hell, his side hurts, he's fairly certain that his left knee isn't likely to either straighten out or bear his weight if it does. His face hurts, even more than his encounters with the door frame and the lampposts. And it's the perpetrator of the door frame and the lampposts that he's curled up against.

Sean doesn't need sight to know that. In fact at this point, he is keeping his eyes firmly shut. He's blind, but in case he isn't blind anymore, because Nick's not a dog anymore, Sean isn't taking any chances that this beautiful dream might end too soon. The less sore side of his face is pillowed against the soft skin and firm musculature of the man he acknowledges he loves. Trouble with loving Nick, Sean knows that he's never given Nick a reason to actually love Sean back. It could be said that he's done a lot in his power to encourage Nick to hate him.

Nick feels Sean nudge his shoulder a little, and Nick holds his breath, because it appears that even awake Sean has decided to trust him. Nick gets that this is quite a leap for Sean, so he lies still. Waiting to see what will happen.

Nick peers cautiously from beneath his lashes as Sean nudges his shoulder again. The zauberbiest is flushed, and Nick remembers the medication abandoned on the bedside table, at some point Sean needs to take something for the pain he is clearly in, and fever-reducers for his overstressed body's reaction to the events of yesterday.

Only yesterday. Nick has to reassure himself of that. Sean was gone less than a day. His family's hundjagers had him less than four hours.

And in less than four hours they beat him into submission. That makes Nick very angry, but he doesn't want to communicate that anger to his injured zauberbiest lest Sean think that Nick is angry with him.

Sean's eyes are still shut as he ghosts a kiss to Nick's collarbone. It's that sign that convinces Nick.

Placing both hands either side of Sean's face, avoiding the bruises Nick quickly slides down until he can look his battered love straight in the eye, and presses a very gentle kiss to Sean's lips.

For a second, Sean goes rigid under Nick's hands, but he doesn't pull away. Hope gathers a little pace as Nick leans in again, kisses Sean. The zauberbiest's eyes are still screwed shut. Nick ghosts a kiss to each eyelid. "Sean, open your eyes." He whispers. There's an anxious pause, and Nick presses another kiss to Sean's mouth. "Come on..." he hesitates to say it, wonders if it's too much, but Sean has been denied love pretty much his whole life and Nick wants to show him that this is different, it's real, it's not power, or dynasty, or any of the other things that Sean is probably imagining, Nick loves Sean because he's Sean, the awkward, tricky, imperious half-zauber, half royal, Biest that he is.

"Come on, darling" Nick whispers.

Sean hears that word, can barely comprehend it, as joy rushes through him, and that's something that Sean Renard isn't used to. He's never been scared of an outcome before, opening his eyes seems futile, but Sean has never been a coward.

Nick watches Sean's eyelids lift, sees those beautiful green-grey eyes looking right at him, and feels a rush of love so strong it practically overwhelms him. He leans in again, this time Sean meets him half-way, one hand slips behind Sean's head, to gently ruffle through the short-cropped curls, as both Sean's hands cup Nick's cheeks.

 

_My job is done, and I know it. I leave them to discover each other, because they will make history together these two, and the world will be better for it._


End file.
